Thread control for weft replenishing looms



R. G. TURNER 2,569,547

THREAD CONTROL FOR WEFT REPLENISHING LOOMS Oct. 2, 1951 Filed April 2'7, 1950 FIG.I v

INVENTOR RICHARD G. TURNER wad/row,

ATTORNEY Patented Oct. 2, 1951 THREAD CONTROL FOR WEFT REPLENISHING LOOMS Richard G. Turner, Worcester, Mass., assignor to Crompton & Knowles Loom Works, Worcester, Mass., a corporation of Massachusetts 7 Application April'2 7, 1950, Serial No. 158,357

This invention relates to improvements in control means for the thread of theincoming bobbin .on weft-replenishing looms and it is the general object of the invention to provide simple means for trappingthe thread to hold it out of the path of the shuttle.

In weft replenishing looms the bobbin transferred into the depleted shuttle ordinarily has a thread or weft end attached to some form of thread holder so that as the shuttleis picked a partial self-threading operation will occur. I On the beat-up of the loom next following replenishing' this thread is beaten into the fell of the cloth and extends from the 'selvage to the thread ho der where it will be held until "cut by a selvage cutter. A form of weft replenishing mechanism adaptable more. particularly for multicolor-work employs a shuttle position detector pivoted to the reserve bobbin magazine at a point above the lay when the latter iszon frontcenter. The lower endof the detector is made with a nose or thelike normally forward of the shuttle when the lay'is on front center. When the magazine is'set for a weft replenishing operation the shuttle detector moves rearward y so that its nose will he struck bythe shuttle should the latter be mis laced or the purpose of revoking the previously called transfer and prevent the insert on of a reserve bobbin into the mi placed shuttle. "It has been customary in the past to form the nose or head of this shuttlev feeler with a forwardly and upwardly extending hook for engagement with the previously mentioned thread of the incoming bobbin, but because of vibration in the loom and the nature of some threads'it is difficult to keep the thread in its proper position in front of the hook. U i The shuttle feeler is'usua ly provided with a cutter for the thread of the outgoing bobbin and also a'clamp to hold this thread. The clamp holdsthis second thr ad near the bottom of t e aforesaid nose or head until it is out at the selvage. If the first mentioned thread is not tra ped, and held separateed from the second thread it may become entangled with the latter thread and interfere with'its removal when cut.

It is an im ortant object of the present invention to provide simple means which will trap the thread of the incoming bobbin in a zone in front of thehook on the nose and above the thread of the out oing bobbin clamped at the bottom of the nose. The means comprises essentia ly a member which responds to a very light force and can lie-lifted by th incominsth ead as t e atter 1 11 Claims. (01. 139-257;)

will appear as the description proceeds, the inridesup'the hook. A the thread moves to a position in front of the hook the member returns to its normal position, and in doing so traps the thread. The member may be a bristle of nylon, or a resilient wire of small diameter clamped or otherwise secured to'the shuttle feeler, or it may be rigid and pivoted on the shuttle feeler in such position that it can be swung upwardly by the thread as the latter is pushed upwardly along the hook. v

In either form of retaining member it is desirable that it be constructed so as to permit ready attachment to shuttle position detectors now in use; and with this thought in mind it is a further object of the invention to provide a simple form of clampcarrying the retaining member and capable of being attached to the shuttle detector in'such position as to locate the thread trapping member correctly with respect to the hook.

With theseand other objects in view which vention resides in the combination and arrangement of parts hereinafter described and set forth. In the accompanying drawings wherein two forms of the invention are set forth,

Fig. 1 is aside elevation of a multicolor weft replenishing mechanism having the preferred .form of the invention applied thereto, the lay and part of the loom frame'being shown in cross section,

Fig. 2 isan enlarged side elevation of a part of the structure shown in Fig. 1 showing the thread retainer in full lines in its normal position and in dotted lines in the position to which it is moved by the incoming thread as the latter moves up the hook and is about to enter the trapping zone,

Fig.8 is 'a horizontal section on line 33, Fig. 2, f

Fig. 4 is a vertical section on line 4-4, Fig. 2,

Fig. 5 is a diagrammatic plan view showing the relation of the invention with respect to the thread of the incoming bobbin and associated parts, and

Fig. 6 shows a modified form of the invention employing a rigid member pivoted to the shuttle position detector and shown in two difierent positions.

Referrin particularly to Fig. 1, the loom frame I supports the reserve bobbin magazine M which includes in its construction a transferrer arm 2 having a latch 3 pivoted thereto. The lay L is provided with a hunter 4 for enga ement with the latch on tran ferring beats of the loom for the purpose of efiecting rocking of the transformed with a rearwardly extending noseior' N provided with cutter mechanism designated generally at C. A rod II is'connectedat its lower end to a cutter blade l2 and at its upper end'to a guide l3. A clamp plate l4 oir nose-N cooperates with blade [2 to hold thethreadOT of the outgoing bobbin. The shuttle position detector and cutter mechanism of themselvesare old and operate in the usual manner, and may be madeasshown for instance: in Patent No. 2,326,862.

Ordinarily the shuttledetector Biwill be in the position shown in Fig; lwith: its nose or head N in a forward position where it will not strike the shuttle S when the latter is in the box 5- and the lay moves toward front center position. When a bobbin transfer operation is called-shaft HJ rocks to move the nose N rearwardly and the latch 3 is lifted into the path of the lay hunter 4. At thesame time cutter'blade" l2 dro'ps tositssopen position by action of rod I i.

During a normal bobbin transfer thread. T of the outgoing bobbin will pass toa position above blade l2, and as the lay approaches front center the rear or left part as: viewed. in: Fig; 1 of the-nose'N will strike some part of the lay, such as' that designated at l, and be moved forwardly to reset the shaft: l-O. During forward'motion of nose: N blade [2 rises to cut thread OT and together with plate [4 clam'ps that part of the thread extending: to the selvage.

As shown in Fig. 6 the loom is provided with the thread holder H which maybe of any approved form to hold thethreadIT'ot th'ei incorriingbobbin B as the latter is transferred into shuttle S. As the lay beats up on the beat of the 100m next following replenishment the hook it on the lay will engage the thread IT and more it forwardly up the rear surface 2!] of an upwardly and. forwardly extending hook. 2| on theno'se N. The thread will pass toa' position in front of the hook 2| and should fall against thetop" 22: ofthe nose and remain in this position, but undersome' some conditions of weaving the thread is likely to whip out of this position and move to a posi" tion rearward of the hook and downwardly" into the path of the shuttlewhere it-may also 'becbme entangled with the clamped thread OT. Sev"'- eral: picks after the bobbin transfer a templec'iitter' T will sever both threads, after which they may be removed.

All. of the matter thus far. described may be of the usual form and operate in the ordinary man'- ner.

In order; that provision maybe madefor trap= ping the thread in front of the hook'2l a yieldable member is provided which can be movedfi'o'm' its normal position by the thread as'the'latter is moved u'p hook surface by hook 6 and then return to normal position to trap the thread? In the preferred form of the invention an inherentlyresilient thread trapping member is employed', such as is shown in Figsi 2-41 A clip=25 preferably" made of asing-l'e piece of sheet metal is shaped as shown in Fig. 3 and is clamped to the shank 26 of the shuttle position detector 8 by means of a bolt 21. Secured to one side 28 of the clamp is a thin resilient member 29 which as shown in Fig. 2 is normally disposed below the top of the hook 2|. As the thread IT is m'ovedup' thehook surface 20'by lay carried hook 6* it will enter a bight 30' formed by the member 29 and surface 20, and as the thread continues to L move forwardly along hook 2| it will deflect the member 29- upwardly to the dotted line position shownin Fig. 2 and then pass to a position in front of the hook, whereupon the member 29 will return to the full line position shown in Fig. 2 due to" it's inherent resilience. The thread will then-be trapped in zone Z located below member 2-9-and above the nose top surface 22, and in front of the hook 2i! and rearward of the shank 2B. The thread IT will be held in this zone against accidental displacement while waiting cuttingat the selvageby'the'temple cutterr'lbx The threadtrapping'memberflr may be 'eitli'e'r a bristle made or some material: such; as nylon,

01' it may be a thin resilient.metallidwire'. The hooknormally tapers upwardly as shown: in Fig. 4 and will have right and left inclinedisides'35 and: 36-. The member'29 will ordinarily engage one or the other of these incli'ned surfaces, engagement with the-surface 35beil'1g' showrrin Fig. 4.- As the bristle or wire is lifted from the full line to the dotted lineipositiorf shown in Fig- 2 itwill ten'd to move away from. the surface and thereby facilitate entry of the thread IT into-thetrappingzone-Z.

- Lhemodified form of the 'inve'ntion'shown' in Fig. 5 comprises a lightweight rigid retainerlmember- 40 which has an eyelet: 4| i'ni the upper end thereof pivoted on one of? the screws 42 which holds the ordinary leaf spring 43 against the clamp? plate M'. The lower end of member '40 is curled forwardly as at 4'4 and' rests" on the upper end of the hook 21 and forms" with the latter a thread bight- 45.- The pivot screw 42 is' forward of. thefront end' of hook 2 I and as'the' thread IT is moved up the surface 20- it will enter bi'ght' 45 and' engagethe under side of the curved end 44 of the member 40 and lift thlatter from the-full line to the dotted line position shown in Fig. 5 and will' then move into a zone 'z I located above thenose top surface 22 and forward of the hook 2| and member 40' and rearward of shank 26. When inthis zone Z! the. thread will be held against accidental displacement, but should it happen to move rearwardly above hook 21 it will in: all' likelihood be trapped by thec'urved end or hook 44 at theT'bottom of: the end 40 and be prevented from being moved permanently out of zone Zl.

From the foregoing is-will beseenf that the inventiorr sets forth simple means to than a thread in front of the hook 2lof 'a shuttle position detector. In the preferred form of the invention the trapping member may be a bristle or wire, while in the modified form' the trapping member may be rigid and move about a pivot so 10- cated with respect to the hook 2 1 that it can be lifted slightly bythe thread as the latter moves into-zone Zl. As shown in Figs. Z'and 3,-for"instance, the thread trapping member 29' may be mounted on a small clipor holder which is-readily attachable to' the shank 2B of the shuttle positiondetector.

Having thus described the invention it" will' be seen that changes and modifications of the foregoing specific disclosuremaybe made without departing from the spirit-fand scope of the :in-

said placer on a forward beat of the'lay moving the thread into said bight and upwardly along said hook to a positionfo'rward of the latter and causing the thread toeffectupward movement of said trapping member from the normal position thereof, said trapping member subsequently moving downwardly to the normal position thereof to trap the thread forwardlyof said hook.

2. In thread control mechanism for a Weft replenishing loom having a thread placer on a lay to move a thread connected to the cloth selvage in a forward direction on the beat-up of the lay subsequent to a weft replenishing operation, a hook having an upwardly and forwardly extending surface, means mounting the hook in the path of the thread as the latter ismoved forwardly by said placer, and a thread trapping member on said means normally positioned to form a thread trapping zone with the hook and means movable upwardly relatively to said hook and when in the normal position thereof forming with the hook a bight to receive the thread, the lay when moving forwardly causing said placer to move the thread into said bight and against the thread trapping member to raise the latter and move the thread into said zone, said trapping member thereupon returning to the normal position thereof to trap the thread in said zone.

3. In thread control mechanism for a weft replenishing loom having a thread placer on a lay to move a thread connected to the cloth selvage in a forward direction on the beat-up of the lay subsequent to a weft replenishing operation, a shuttle position detector having a shank and a rearwardly extending nose on the shank, an upwardly and forwardly extending hook projecting upwardly from the nose, and a thread trapping member effective when in normal position I to define a trapping zone with the hook, nose and shank, the thread when moved forwardly by said placer engagin the trapping member to lift the latter and pass below the same over said hook into the trapping zone, said trapping member thereupon returning to normal position to confine the thread Within said zone.

4. In thread control mechanism for a weft replenishing loom having a thread placer on a lay to move a thread connected to the cloth selvage in a forward direction on the beat-up of the lay subsequent to a weft replenishing operation, a shuttle position detector formed with a rearwardly extending nose, an upwardly and forwardly extending hook projecting upwardly from the nose, a clamp removably secured to the shuttle detector, and a thread trapping member supported by the clamp and movable upwardly relatively to said nose and when in the normal position thereof forming a thread receiving bight with said hook, the thread placer moving the thread into said bight and over the hook to a position in front of the latter and causing the thread to effect movement of the'trapping mem-. her from the normal position thereof, said trapping member thereafter returning to the normal position to trap said thread forward of the hook.

5. In thread control mechanism for a weft replenishing loom having a thread placer effective on the beat-upof the lay subsequent to a weft replenishing operation to move forwardly a thread-connected to the selvage, a shuttle posision detector formed with a rearwardly extending nose, an upwardly and forwardly extending hook projecting upwardly from the nose, and an inherently resilient thread trapping member carried by the shuttle detector and when in normal position extending along the hook at a point belowthe top of the latter and forming with the hook a bight to receivethe thread as the latter is moved forwardly by said placer, the placer causing the thread to bend said trappin member upwardly so that the placer can move the thread over the hook to a position in front of said hook, said member thereupon due to the resilience thereof returning to the normal position thereof to trap the thread in front of said hook.

6. In thread control mechanism for a weft replenishing loom having a thread placer on a lay to move a thread connected to the cloth selvage in a forward direction on the beat-up of the lay subsequent to a Weft replenishing operation, a shuttle position detector having a shank and a rearwardly extending noseat the bottom of the shank, an upwardly and forwardly extending thread hook projecting upwardly from said nose, and a thread trapping member pivoted to the shank forward of the hook and when in the normal position thereof forming a thread bight with the hook, the thread being moved by said placer 'up along the thread hook into engagement with the trapping member to lift the latter and then to a position forward of the hook, said trapping member thereupon returning to the normal position thereof to trap the thread.

7. In a shuttle position detector for a weft replenishing loom, said detector comprising a shank, a rearwardly extending nose on the shank, an upwardly and forwardl extending thread hook projecting upwardly from the nose, and a thread trapping member movable relatively to the shuttle position detector and when in normal position forming a thread receiving bight with said hook, said trapping member being movable upwardly by a thread passing from the bight over the hook to a position forward of the latter and thereafter returning to the normal position thereof.

8. In a shuttle position detector for a weft replenishing loom comprising a shank and a nose extending rearwardly from the lower end of the shank, an upwardly and forwardly extending thread hook projecting upwardly from the nose, a clamp releasably secured to the shank, and a thread trapping member supported by the clamp effective when in normal position 7 to form a thread bight with said hook, said trapping member being movable upwardly from said nose to a position to permit passage of a thread from said bight over said hook to a position forward of said latter and thereafter returning to the normal position thereof.

9. In a shuttle position detector for a weft replenishing loom comprising a shank and a nose extending rearwardly from the lower end of the shank, an upwardly and forwardly extending thread hook projecting upwardly from the nose, a clamp releasably secured to the shank, and an 7, inherently resilient thread trapping member supported by said clamp normally below the top of the: hook forming a thread bight with said hook but deflectable upwardly to permit a thread to pass from the bight over the hook to a position forward of the hook.

10. In a shuttle position detector for a weft replenishing loom comprising a shank and a nose extending rearwardly from the lower end of the shank, an upwardly and forwardly extending thread hook projecting upwardly from the nose, said hook having a side surface inclined upwardly and laterally of said nose, and an inherently resilient thread trapping member supported by the shuttle detector normally engaging said inclined surface below the top of the hook and forming a thread bight with the hook, said trapping member being deflectable-upwardly from the nose to a: position spaced from said inclined surface to facilitate passage of a thread from said bight over the hookto a position forward of the hook.

11. Ina shuttle position detector for a weft replenishing loom, -a: rearwardly extending nose, thread cutter and clamp mechanism to clamp a thread at the bottom of the nose, an upwardly and forwardly extending hook projecting upwardly from the top of the nose, and a thread trap member cooperating with the hook and top of the nose to trap a second thread forward of the hook and keep said second thread spaced from the first thread clamped at the bottom of said 15 nose.

RICHARD G. TURNER.

No" references cited. 

